


Lonely Children

by swankkat (solitarystroll)



Series: Somewhere in Time [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode Related, Episode: s02e11 Fear Her, F/M, Missing Scene, POV Minor Character, Platonic Cuddling, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-24
Updated: 2007-10-24
Packaged: 2018-03-01 04:04:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2758955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solitarystroll/pseuds/swankkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gentle rise and fall of her daughter’s body under her duvet was reassuring, as was the Doctor’s promise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely Children

**Author's Note:**

> Moved over from Teaspoon, consolidating my fic in one place, however little there happens to be. This was my first posted fic in the Doctor Who fandom.
> 
> Old notes: "Fabulous beta services rendered by the gorgeous Joely_Jo, who originally gave me the encouragement I needed to post this."

"The guest room is this way. I'm sorry it's not very big but…" Trish gave a look to the couple behind her. "I'm sure you'll find some way of making do."

She noticed the blonde's quick blush and glance up at the man beside her; the one who referred to himself simply as the "Doctor" hardly blinked.

"Oh, yes," he elongated the word, making it sound somewhat reptilian but not unpleasantly so. "I'm sure we'll be just fine. No worries, I say." The Doctor gave Trish a bright and manic grin, and had she been looking elsewhere, she might have missed the quick squeeze he gave to his companion's hand.

Trish, however, was a mother; not much escaped her attention.

When Chloe had started to act strangely, Trish had worked out quickly that it was more than the usual adolescent growing pains. Motherly perception at work, she thought. Something had happened to her little girl, something dark and serious and somehow worse than the horrors her late husband had inflicted upon them. A guilty part of her conscience realized that she'd been doing her best to feign ignorance while something was turning her child into a monster. With the feeling of discomfort growing every day, Trish wasn't quite sure what she would have done if the Doctor and Rose Tyler hadn't shown up. What she did know, however, was that she was rapidly losing her daughter to a force she wasn't capable of dealing by herself.

Trish led the strange couple up a flight of stairs and down the hallway, in the opposite direction of Chloe's room, but still close enough to be able to hear should anything disturb her. She knew she shouldn't feel particularly comfortable about having a strange man in her home with access to her child, but the credentials he had displayed and his general demeanor put her at ease. Besides, there was something strangely comforting about this Doctor — something that almost insisted you place your trust in him. Whatever it was, Trish wasn't going to deny his help; after years of trying to protect and raise her child without support, she'd come to realize that some things weren't meant to be dealt with alone.

"Here you go, nice and cozy." She opened the door to the small bedroom, allowing the last rays of the sun to filter gently onto the carpets in the hall. "Chloe and I have already eaten, but you're welcome to whatever you can find in the kitchen should you need anything. Bathroom's to the left, towels are in the cupboard across the landing." She gave them a quick once-over, noting Rose's gentle coloring and the Doctor's unaffected demeanor. "Thanks, Mrs. Webber, this'll be fine," Rose said with genuine gratitude, giving the man beside her a casual nudge which prompted a similar response. Trish hid a smirk and nodded to the pair before turning and heading back down to the kitchen; might as well see what she could prepare in case her guests decided to have a snack.

 

* * *

 

"What I don't get is why we're staying here tonight. I mean, the TARDIS is right down the road." From his perch on the edge of the bed, The Doctor looked on as Rose kicked off her trainers and wiggled her toes into the soft carpet.

He gave her a cheeky grin. "Afraid we'll wake the neighbors?" Rose blushed, and not for the first time this afternoon, he noted. "Actually, I have a very good reason for staying." He held up his hand, mimicking his Vulcan greeting from earlier. Rose's lips twitched as she sat down next to him.

"Honestly, I've traveled with you for how long?" The Doctor amusedly watched as Rose tried to keep from laughing. "And only now do you pull a Spock on me. I was about to lose hope!" She grinned, the very tip of her tongue poking out from behind her teeth.

The Doctor somehow managed to keep a straight face. "Never lose hope, Rose. Have I ever let you down?" At her look, the Doctor cleared his throat and continued. "Anyways, I wasn't really talking about the hand gesture, although I suppose you could say I was being a bit 'Spock.' What I did earlier with Chloe, do you remember?" Rose frowned a bit, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thought.

"You mean that trance you put her in? Sorta surprising, I suppose. Didn't know you could do that." Apparently, there were still quite a number of things the Doctor hadn't disclosed to her yet. A problem he meant to remedy very soon.

"It's not something I use very often, since most sentient life forms object to having someone muck around in their heads," he winked at Rose and nudged her with his elbow, causing her to grin at the memory. "It was more than a trance, it was like…" He struggled to find a euphemism that would make sense to his human companion.

"Like a Vulcan mind meld, you mean?" Rose laughed as she watched his expression change to one of exasperation.

"Well, if we're going with the whole Spock analogy, then yes, just on a slightly less invasive level. Basically," he held up his hands in demonstration. "I placed a bit of psychic influence in Chloe's mind. My presence here is acting like a ground wire; I can sense her movements and intentions, but she won't be able to do anything nasty while I'm around. I'll know she's up to something and stop her before it gets out of hand."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "We'll have to leave sometime though, it's not like we can stay in Trish's house until we solve this. I mean," she colored slightly. "I need a change of clothes if we're gonna be here for a while. And I know you're going to start itching to get back to the TARDIS in a bit."

The Doctor grinned and tapped Rose on the nose. "Of course, we'll have to leave the house eventually. But tomorrow, we can have Trish keep an eye on her daughter." He quickly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed. "I just thought it would be good if she got a night off from worrying all the time. She seemed so tired." He felt rather than heard Rose's soft chuckle as she embraced his arm.

"Look at you." The Doctor looked down to see Rose with her chin propped on his shoulder, fingers tightening slightly on his sleeve and looking at him with an odd but not uncomfortable expression. "You're just a big softy."

"That's me," The Doctor smiled gently as he brushed some stray hair off of Rose's cheek. "The Oncoming Storm and All-Round Marshmallow-" A loud gurgle emitted from his stomach, breaking the mood as they both dissolved into laughter.

"And apparently, the Bottomless Pit." Rose hiccuped, trying to stifle her giggles. She grabbed his hand as she slid off the side of the bed. At his look, she hitched a thumb over her shoulder. "Come on you, there has to be more to eat around here than just jam!"

The Doctor grinned as he was led down to the kitchen for a quick snack. Once, he would have considered the scene to be far too domestic for his liking.

Now, he wouldn't have it any other way.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, Trish walked around the house, quietly checking locks and windows, and turning out the lights. It was the same ritual she performed every night before bed, a sort of methodical winding down to the day that she found comforting and calming. She supposed it was the result of living alone but a small part of her also acknowledged that it was the motherly instinct to protect. It wasn't her fault, she told herself as she dragged the deadbolt across the back door, that her efforts had fallen short of the mark.

It had been a fairly uneventful evening, blessedly so after the harrowing experience of seeing her daughter convulse like a rag doll in the Doctor's hands. Trish wasn't sure that she would ever erase that image from her memories, but she vowed that she would never ignore Chloe again. The thought made tears spring to her eyes, and she brushed them away in tired frustration as she made her way up the staircase to peek in at her troubled child.

She opened the door to Chloe's room a fraction, trying to cause the least amount of disturbance possible; with the way she was acting, Trish wasn't sure what her daughter's reaction would be if she'd been unnecessarily awakened.

Moonlight shone like a silent visitor through the voiles on the windows, gently cradling her little girl in a soft glow. Trish stepped cautiously into the room, careful not to disturb the sleeping form before her. Chloe looked so peaceful, so relaxed… so completely human. There was none of the strangeness that had marred her over the last few weeks, only a small girl who looked every inch the daughter she'd given birth to.

"My poor little girl," Trish knelt down and whispered, aching to brush phantom tendrils of hair away from Chloe's eyelids; an unneeded excuse to touch her child. But she was afraid, so afraid, to wake her. "I am so, so sorry." Without making a sound, Trish got to her feet and, after a moment's pause, walked back to the door, closing it nervously behind her.

She clasped a hand around her mouth, stifling the sob that threatened to break free. Why couldn't things ever just get better for them? John had terrorized them for years, and after he'd died, she'd thought things would finally get better. Was this punishment for wanting that sort of revenge on her husband? Trish didn't know what to believe; all she knew was that right now, her little girl was hurting, and the Doctor was the only one who seemed to know what to do.

As she passed their door on the way to her own room, Trish heard low voices talking, then a soft female sigh. Raising an eyebrow, she paused, concerned that there might be some questionable activities going on under her own roof. She wasn't a prude by any definition of the word, but two strangers having an adult relationship not four meters away from her daughter was a little much to find acceptable at the moment. The door was open just a crack, and she could make out the faintest of movements from the low lamplight.

"…but really Doctor, how are we going to help the Isolus without causing Chloe any more harm? I mean, obviously they care for each other very much." There was a shift in movement and Rose came into view, still fully clothed and standing at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips. The Doctor, presumably, was either on the opposite side of the room or on the bed by himself. Thank goodness for small favors, thought Trish.

"You're absolutely right, Rose Tyler," The Doctor said in that peculiar manner of addressing his friend, "I knew there was a reason I kept you around —oof!" A soft fwump indicated something soft, probably a pillow, had been thrown at the Doctor. Trish stifled a laugh; if this was as "adult" as this relationship got, she certainly had nothing to worry about. There was a muffled squeak and a shuffle, and Rose ducked out of Trish's vision as one of the throw pillows sailed across the room.

"So," a laughing Rose continued. "If loneliness is the cause of all this, then surely-" She yawned, cutting her thought off mid-sentence. Trish heard the Doctor's soft chuckle and the slight sound of him patting the bed.

"You gonna stand there all night Rose? I mean, I've heard of sleeping while standing up, but I rather doubt you have the, erm, legs for it. I'm sure," he continued hastily, "your legs are perfectly capable. They're lovely legs. Not that I've been looking, mind." The Doctor finished in a flurry, as if realizing that he probably said a bit too much.

Rose gave a gentle laugh and waved a hand. "Budge up then; only one bed, and I'm not sleeping on the floor." She padded out of Trish's line of sight, and presumably settled down beside the Doctor on the double-sized mattress. A rustle of clothing and a soft sigh followed, making Trish wonder exactly what the relationship was between those two.

"Anyway," The Doctor continued, voice slightly softer than before, though no less animated. "Tomorrow we'll go to the TARDIS, pick up a few parts and see if we can locate the Isolus' pod. I think with a little luck we might be able to get a trace on it and have Chloe back before tea time. No little girl should miss tea time. Think of all the brilliant marmalade she'd be missing."

There was a soft snort of amusement and another yawn before the Doctor continued, his voice becoming softer with each word. "As I was saying, the pod shouldn't be too far away, tucked into some little corner of the neighborhood. I suspect that if we can pinpoint its location, we might be able to convince the Isolus to leave Chloe's body and Rose is asleep now, Trish. You can come in."

Trish, startled at the Doctor's acknowledgement, swung the door open quietly. The Doctor lay with his back against the headboard, legs crossed at the ankle, his left arm tucked around the shoulders of the girl curled at his side. Rose lay sleeping peacefully, one hand resting on the Doctor's chest and a small smile gracing her features. Trish was reminded suddenly of Chloe; the expression on Rose's face was almost a mirror for the one she'd just observed on her daughter. The Doctor was absently running his fingers through her hair, somehow oblivious to the fact he was even doing it. He had been looking out the window at the stars, but directed his gaze towards Trish as she entered the room.

"We'll get Chloe back, Trish. I promise you, we'll get this all sorted out." His eyes darkened slightly and Trish fought the urge to shiver. There was something beyond power in that stare, she thought. "I give you my word. Now get some sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow, starting with you confiscating all of Chloe's art supplies."

Trish nodded, and glanced at Rose's sleeping form. The Doctor smiled gently and shook his head. "You lot and your need for sleep. Could get so much more done if you didn't need to rest your bodies so much." He gave Rose's shoulder an almost imperceptible squeeze. "But then, there wouldn't be nice, quiet moments like this. Not that I'm fond of them or anything." He gave Trish a quick, manic grin, as if to say ‘Pay no attention to anything I just said, there's a good girl.' Trish didn't know what exactly the Doctor meant when he referred to "you lot," but she had a feeling that she didn't really want to think about it too much.

Instead, Trish merely gave him an unsure smile and treaded softly out of the room. As an afterthought, she poked her head back through the door to see the Doctor studying Rose's face with something akin to wonder. Trish smiled and whispered, "Goodnight, Doctor."

The Doctor looked up with a slight deer-caught-in-the-headlights look about him before his expression cleared. He smiled back. "Sleep tight, Trish."

Trish nodded and shut the door with a soft click. She hesitated a moment, then turned back to her daughter's door to peek inside. The gentle rise and fall of her daughter's body under her duvet was reassuring, as was the Doctor's promise. Closing the door again, Trish rested her forehead against the wood. Sending up a prayer to whatever deities existed, she turned and walked to her own room. It was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

In the guest bedroom, the Doctor watched Rose Tyler sleep on undisturbed. Her gentle breathing and soft snores comforted him as he took turns gazing at her face and searching the skies. There was an uncomfortable pressure at the back of his head that warned of impending danger, but he wasn't certain of the cause.

The answer to the problem of the Isolus was within his grasp, like a join-the-dots picture to which he couldn't correctly connect the lines. That's what his Rose was good at, making sense of the loose ends. He ran a finger over her jaw line and sighed. He would feel bad about waking her just to fulfill his need for investigative chatter.

Rose shifted in her sleep and nuzzled into his neck, her whisper-light breaths across his bare collarbone doing strange things to his physiology. The Doctor tightened his arm around her and smiled to himself. The logical part of his brain scolded him for such thinking, but come what may, as long as Rose was by his side, he knew things would be all right in the end.

He returned his gaze to the dark skies outside. Somewhere out there was the Isolus' family, scattered among the dust particles and chunks of rock floating around the Earth's outer atmosphere. He was sure that the family had felt the loss of their sibling, being such a tightly knit group of creatures. Even one loss was unacceptable.

But then his thoughts turned to the sole Isolus trapped on this planet and how lonely it must be. He felt the shadow of his own situation loom across his mind and bit back on his emotions. For a moment he understood the Isolus' need to bond with Chloe; the desperation to be comforted, loved and wanted was something he knew all too well. He was so very alone, too.

"'s not true," came a mumbling voice. "You've always got me."

Startled, the Doctor glanced down. Had he been speaking aloud? Did he wake Rose with his babbling? Yet Rose's eyelids only fluttered the smallest amount as her hand clenched momentarily on the Doctor's jacket. He smiled when he realized she was still mostly asleep and brushed a finger over her cheek. He gave in to temptation and placed the lightest of kisses on her brow.

"Quite right, Rose Tyler," he whispered softly. "Quite right."

**Author's Note:**

> This scene is alluded to and acts as a pseudo-prequel to a larger story I wrote called "Where There's a Will," which I will be posting at some time in the future.
> 
> Thank you for reading. xo


End file.
